Food Hygiene Basics: The Four Things That Matter

Our food safety courses are for people who handle food for a living. This one is for everyone else — the basics, taken from Food Standards Agency guidance rather than from the internet’s supply of alarming kitchen statistics.

We have deliberately dropped the viral claims this page used to repeat about chopping boards and toilet seats. They make good copy and we could not source them.

The numbers, in one table

1. Cleaning

• Wash your hands with soap and warm water before you start, and again after handling raw meat, poultry, fish or eggs, after touching pets, after using the bin and after going to the toilet. Ordinary soap is fine — antibacterial soap is not required, and technique and frequency matter far more than the product.
• Dry your hands properly. Damp hands transfer bacteria more readily than dry ones, which is why the drying step is not optional.
• Clean work surfaces before and after preparing food, particularly after raw meat.
• Change cloths and sponges often. A damp cloth left on the sink is a better home for bacteria than almost anything else in the kitchen, and wiping a surface with a dirty cloth spreads rather than cleans.
• Tie hair back, remove rings and watches where practical, and cover cuts with a plaster.
• Do not use a tea towel to dry hands, wipe surfaces and dry dishes interchangeably.

2. Avoiding cross-contamination

This is where most domestic food poisoning actually starts — bacteria moving from raw food to something that will be eaten without further cooking.

• Store raw meat, poultry and fish in their packaging or in clean sealed containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so they cannot touch or drip onto other food.
• Use separate boards and utensils for raw meat and for ready-to-eat food, or wash thoroughly between them. Colour-coded boards make this automatic rather than a decision you have to remember to make.
• Do not wash raw meat or poultry. It does not make it safer and it splashes bacteria around the sink, taps and surfaces. Thorough cooking is what kills the bacteria.
• Do wash fruit and vegetables that will be eaten raw, especially anything unpeeled or grown in soil.
• Watch the shopping bag. Raw meat leaking over salad in a bag is the same problem, earlier.
• Do not reuse a marinade that raw meat has sat in, unless you boil it first.

3. Cooking

The standard advice is to cook food until it reaches a core temperature of 70°C for two minutes. If you have a food thermometer, measure the thickest part — on a whole bird, between the thigh and the breast — and check in more than one place.

Without a thermometer, use all three checks together:

• Steaming hot all the way through — you should see steam when you cut it open
• No pink fleshy meat
• Juices run clear

Which foods need most care

The burger-versus-steak point is the one worth understanding rather than memorising: on a whole steak the bacteria are on the outside, so searing it deals with them. Mincing distributes that surface throughout, which is why a rare burger is a different proposition from a rare steak.

Reheating: only once, and until steaming hot throughout.

4. Chilling

• Fridge between 0 and 5°C. The light coming on tells you nothing — use a fridge thermometer. We give them away: claim a free fridge thermometer.
• Freezer around −18°C.
• Cool cooked food at room temperature and get it into the fridge within one to two hours. Dividing it into shallow containers speeds this up considerably — a whole pot of chilli takes hours to cool; four shallow tubs take under one.
• Eat leftovers within 48 hours, or freeze them if you think you will not manage that.
• Cover everything in sealed containers.
• Defrost in the fridge, not on the worktop, and cook it within 24 hours of defrosting.
• Do not overfill the fridge — air needs to circulate for it to hold temperature.
• Do not refreeze raw food that has been defrosted, unless you cook it first. Cooked food made from defrosted raw ingredients can be frozen.

Use-by and best-before are not the same thing

This one causes both illness and waste.

“It looks fine” is not a test. The bacteria that cause food poisoning do not generally change how food looks, smells or tastes — that is the whole reason the dates exist.

The people who need you to get this right

Some groups are more likely to become seriously ill from food poisoning, and it is worth being stricter when cooking for them:

• Babies and young children
• Adults over 65
• Pregnant women
• Anyone with a weakened immune system or a serious underlying condition

For these groups, avoid raw or lightly cooked eggs unless they carry an assurance scheme mark, unpasteurised dairy, and undercooked meat — and be particularly careful with leftovers.

If you handle food for a living

The rules above are good practice at home. In a business, they become a legal duty. Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 requires food business operators to ensure that food handlers are “supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters commensurate with their work activity” — and to be able to show it.

See do I need a Level 2 food hygiene certificate? for what that means in practice and which level each role needs.

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Frequently asked questions

What temperature should a fridge be?

Between 0 and 5°C, according to Food Standards Agency guidance. A freezer should be around −18°C. Use a fridge thermometer rather than judging by feel — the light coming on tells you nothing about the temperature.

Should you wash raw chicken before cooking?

No. Washing raw poultry does not make it safer and splashes bacteria around the sink and surrounding surfaces. Thorough cooking is what destroys the bacteria.

How do you know meat is cooked properly?

Aim for a core temperature of 70°C for two minutes in the thickest part. Without a thermometer, check that it is steaming hot all the way through, that there is no pink fleshy meat, and that the juices run clear.

How long can you keep leftovers?

Eat leftovers within 48 hours, or freeze them. Cool cooked food and get it into the fridge within one to two hours, and only reheat food once, until it is steaming hot throughout.

What is the difference between use-by and best-before?

Use-by is about safety — do not eat food after that date even if it looks and smells fine. Best-before is about quality, and food is generally still safe afterwards though it may not be at its best.

Where should raw meat go in the fridge?

On the bottom shelf, in its packaging or a clean sealed container, so it cannot touch or drip onto other food.

Do I need antibacterial soap for food hygiene?

No. Ordinary soap and warm water, followed by drying your hands properly, is what matters. Frequency and technique make far more difference than the type of soap.

Why can a steak be rare but not a burger?

On a whole cut of beef the bacteria are on the surface, so searing the outside deals with them. Mincing distributes that surface throughout the meat, so a burger has to be cooked all the way through.

Can you refreeze food that has been defrosted?

Not raw food, unless you cook it first. Food that has been defrosted and then cooked can be frozen as a cooked dish.

Why is leftover rice a food poisoning risk?

Spores that survive cooking can grow if cooked rice is left at room temperature. Cool it quickly, refrigerate it promptly, and reheat it only once until steaming hot.

Training for your business

If you handle food commercially, our food safety courses run at Levels 1, 2 and 3. Call 0845 838 4643 or use the enquiry form on this page and we will tell you which level each of your people needs.